Just Joshin

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

I was glancing through All I Want for Christmas last night, and I stopped at Christmas Coda 37 (Colin and Thomas of "The French Have a Word For It"). Clearly I was hungry, because the idea for Buche de Noel stuck in my mind.

Now I've never actually had Buche de Noel, but it certainly does look decadent and delicious!

Listen to this description:

The bûche de Noël is a French holiday favorite, inspired by the giant yule logs that were traditionally burned on Christmas Eve. The bakers at the small, family-owned We Take the Cake bakery have handcrafted this one with their best-selling chocolate génoise cake, rolled with rich coffee buttercream and finished with chocolate cream cheese frosting "bark." Whimsical berry-laden fondant holly leaves and crisp meringue/marzipan mushrooms add festive flourish.

Yum!

So today's giveaway--limited to readers in the US, unfortunately--is a Buche de Noel from Williams and Sonoma. It's going to be tight pulling this one off, so be sure to check back to see if you've won because we have very few days to get the order in!

To be eligible for this particular giveaway you must live in the US and you must contribute your very favorite holiday recipe in the comment section below. I'll be choosing the winner tomorrow morning, so don't put off contributing your recipe in the comment section!

Monday, December 11, 2017

Happy Holidays! We've got something especially warm and lovely for your Monday morning. My dear friend Steve Leonard (who most of you already know if you read his wonderful Adrien English coda last year) has contributed another coda. And to all a Good Night, a peek at Kit Holmes and JX Moriarity from the Holmes & Moriarity series.

And to All a Good Night!

I had just ended my call when the bathroom door opened and
J.X. emerged in a billowing John Varvatos-scented cloud of steam. It made me
think of those early 1980s MTV music videos; all that was missing here were
strobe lights, a soundtrack, and a few doves. With his black hair towel-mussed
and still damp, and a plush, pale green towel wrapped low on his lean, tanned
hips, he flashed me a rakish smile as he slid over to where I was sitting and
leaned in to give me a kiss.

“Just let me shave and the bathroom's all yours,” he said as
he pulled away.

“Mmm,” I murmured, enjoying the taste of him on my lips as I
reluctantly let him go. “I took a shower while you were at the gym so I just
need to change.”

He looked down at the phone still in my hand. “Who were you
talking to?”

“Oh,” I said absently as I set the phone down. “That was
Adrien.”

“Yeah? How are he and Jake?” He was back in the bathroom,
clearing a spot on the mirror with a hand towel.

“They're good. I told him about the books from Irving
Butler.”

“Oh? And is he interested?”

“Very,” I replied. Irving Butler was a neighbor who’d passed
away a few weeks ago, losing a long battle with cancer. He’d been a diehard
Miss Butterwith fan and when he learned from my next door neighbor, Emmaline,
that I’d moved in across the street, we struck up a friendship. I was very
surprised and touched to learn he left me several books from his large
collection.

“He was extremely jealous about the copy of ‘Known
Homosexual’ but I told him I was going to surprise my friend Diane with it for
her birthday. She’ll be thrilled.”

“I bet,” J.X. commented.

“They’re going to be in Sonoma in a couple of weeks. Adrien
owns property outside of Basking and invited us to come down for a few days. I
thought we’d go and bring the books with us.”

“I remember Jake talking about renovations the last time I
spoke to him,” J.X. said between razor strokes.

“Yes, they finished about a month ago.”

“I've been to Basking before. It's a nice little town. I
think you might like it.”

Man, I look nice!

I watched him as he finished shaving and began to work on his
hair. In a matter of seconds he had it artfully mussed, a look that usually
took me upwards of ten minutes to achieve. As if he could sense me staring, he
turned, his eyes finding mine. “What?”

“Nothing,” I said quickly, shaking my head.

“Kit?” He rinsed his hands and patted them dry. “What is it?
You’re not nervous about tonight, are you?”

“What? Oh, no. It's nothing like that.”

“Then what is it?” He sat on the arm of the chair, his brown
eyes warm and filled with concern. “Talk to me.”

“Sometimes I can't believe my good fortune, is all,” I said
with a shrug, averting my eyes, suddenly self-conscious and not quite able to
meet that penetrating gaze of his. It was as if he could see into my soul, and
it was unnerving at times. Like now.

“Kit... silly.” He took my chin in the palm of his hand and
turned my face to his. He was smiling like the big dope he is, eyes bright and
shiny. Then he leaned down and took my mouth with his. “It’s my good fortune
too, you know,” he whispered as he kissed me deeply.

That made me smile. Yes, it had been rough going at times,
especially in the beginning, but I've truly never been happier than I’ve been
this last year with J.X.

I was still thinking about that when he got up and went to
his dresser, pulled out socks and underwear, and headed to the walk-in closet
to finish dressing.

Nina, J.X.'s ex-wife, was having a Christmas Eve party at her
house tonight and then tomorrow, as per family tradition, was the Big Family
Dinner at his mother's house.

J.X.'s family was full of traditions and our calendar was
filled with events and family get-togethers. There seemed to be a family
gathering every couple of weekends and it was kind of nice, actually.

Large families can be difficult

I’d even finally managed to acquit myself from the
spectacular crash and burn of 'that' Christmas – the Ghost of
Christmas-Whatever-the-Hell-Was-I-Thinking – when I'd been sick and bailed in
such an inglorious fashion that I still cringe whenever I think of it. But over
the course of the past several holidays I'd been forgiven for that trespass,
and J.X. and I had even been allowed to host Thanksgiving dinner this year,
which had been a great success.

So, even if I did sometimes feel overwhelmed by the size and
loudness of the Moriarity clan, they were, for all intents and purposes now, my
family, and I never again wanted to do anything that reflected poorly on J.X.

Because I loved him.

Yeah, I really did love him.

“Which one, Kit?” J.X.’s voice broke my reverie and I looked
up. He was standing next to my chair wearing nothing but a long-sleeved black
Armani shirt – unbuttoned – and white briefs. He held up two ties but I barely
noticed them because my eyes were riveted on the bulge in his underwear not two
feet away. Directly at eye level. Talk about visions of sugarplums.

“Red or green?” he asked.

“Um, what?”

“Red or...” he broke off with a small chuckle and a sigh.
“Kit. Honey. I’m up here.” I sheepishly – and very slowly, I’m not ashamed to
add – dragged my gaze upward to find him grinning that crooked smile of his.
There were laugh lines at the corners of his eyes and I felt my face redden. Damn,
but he was sexy.

“Red or green,” he repeated, waving the ties with emphasis.

“Oh, uh... Green. Definitely green.”

He smiled again and as he turned to go back to the closet,
looked over his shoulder and winked. “Keep that thought in mind for later,
though,” he said huskily as he disappeared into the closet.

Forget later, I thought, as I rose from my chair and stalked
after him, cornering him at the rack that held his shoes.

“Kit,” he gasped in surprise as I spun him around and pushed
him against the shelves. “What are you doing?”

My thumb brushed his nipple as my hand slid slowly down his
chest and over his abs, stopping

They are definitely going to be late

briefly at the waistband of his Calvins. “What
do you think I'm doing,” I asked coyly, gently snapping the elastic.

He was flustered and blushing and I found it adorable.
“Bu…but the party -”

“Isn’t for another hour,” I said, tweaking his nipple, which
elicited another excited gasp. “And I think we can be late.”

“But...”

I grabbed his with
both hands as I sank to my knees.

“Kit…” he rasped breathlessly, his fingers in my hair.

I continued what I was doing, smiling when I heard his head
hit the shelves with a thunk.

Sunday, December 10, 2017

It wouldn't be the Advent Calendar if I didn't share at least one new cocktail recipe this holiday season.

A Dark 'n Stormy is apparently a tropical drink (it hails from Bermuda) but it was my cocktail of choice while in Montreal (and Toronto and Ottawa) and it really has a very festive, holiday zing to it. Plus, it couldn't be more simple to make.

Now the catch with a drink this simple is you need top shelf ingredients. Just sayin.

Dark 'n Stormy

1 oz. DARK (not spicy) rum (Gosling's Black Seal Rum is recommended)

4 oz. ginger beer (Barrit's Ginger Beer was recommended)

a squirt of fresh lime juice (to taste, in other words)

tall (high ball) glass

Fill glass with ice. Pour in the ginger beer and leave enough room for the rum. Add the rum. Squirt in some fresh lime juice. Stir gently. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Share your favorite holiday beverage recipe below (it doesn't have to be alcoholic) and I'll randomly pick ten people to receive their choice of one ebook from my backlist.

Friday, December 8, 2017

This is not a coda. Instead, it's a missing scene from The Monet Murders (Book 2 in the Art of Murder series)

**Spoiler alert: this scene takes place after the dramatic
events at Camden Castle—and before Jason gets back to Los Angeles.

“Where the hell did you learn to swim like that?” Sam asked.
His voice sounded a little thick, a little indistinct. He was slightly stoned
from the painkillers, and Jason smiled to himself. It wasn’t often he had Sam
at any kind of disadvantage.

It was about eight in the evening. They were in bed in a
motel in Watertown, which sounded more promising than it was. No. Not true. After
the afternoon they’d had, having a few quiet minutes with Sam safe and mostly
unhurt, was all Jason could ask for—and more than he’d expected. After a cursory
examination, Sam had, against medical advice—no surprise there--checked himself
out of the hospital. Places to go and bad guys to catch. Although, and this had
been a surprise, he had not fought too hard when Jason insisted he not head
straight to Cape Vincent to join in the interrogation of Eric Greenleaf.

“Can I get you anything?” Jason asked. Sam looked pale, and lines
of pain were etched around his eyes and mouth. All things considered, he looked
great. A lot better than he would have had Greenleaf managed to blow his head
off.

“Nah,” Sam muttered. “You being here is exactly what I need.”

Okay. That was definitely the pain meds talking. Jason smothered
a grin.

Sam, must have heard something in his silence though, because
he cocked a bloodshot eye and then put his hand on Jason’s shoulder, drawing
him down. Jason settled his head on Sam’s bare chest, closing his eyes and
listening to slow, heavy thump of Sam’s heart.

Thank God. Thank God. What if I’d been too
slow? What if I hadn’t been able to find him? Thank God.

He said, “I had asthma when I was a kid. The doctors
recommended swimming as a way to strengthen my lungs and just, I don’t know, build
me up. So from that day on, my parents had me in the water and involved in
every possible aquatic activity known to man or fish.” He shrugged. “And I outgrew
it. The asthma, I mean. I love the water.”

“Activities known to man or fish, huh?” Sam dipped his head
and kissed Jason’s eyebrow.

That was probably a miss, but Jason would take it. He would
take every gesture Sam had to offer.

They were silent for a time. Jason thought Sam had probably
drifted off again, but Sam said suddenly, “Did I even remember to thank you?”

I don't know about you, but I especially love spooky stories and vintage mysteries around the holidays. There's something peculiarly delightful about that weird blend of cozy and creepy.

To be eligible for this giveaway, share a real life spooky experience with us in the comment section below. It doesn't necessarily have to be your own experience, but you have to have got the story by word-of-mouth. And if it's a eerie story from around the holidays, even better!!!

And in the spirit of sharing spooky stories, here's a link to a three public domain ghost stories which you can read for free. A little something different for you coffee break (just don't walk home from work alone!) ;-)

About Me

Josh Lanyon is the author of over sixty titles of classic Male/Male fiction featuring twisty mystery, kickass adventure and unapologetic man-on-man romance.
Her work has been translated into eleven languages. The FBI thriller Fair Game was the first male/male title to be published by Harlequin Mondadori, the largest romance publisher in Italy. Stranger on the Shore (Harper Collins Italia) was the first M/M title to be published in print. In 2016 Fatal Shadows placed #5 in Japan's annual Boy Love novel list (the first and only title by a foreign author to place on the list). The Adrien English Series was awarded All Time Favorite Male Male Couple in the 2nd Annual contest held by the 20,000+ Goodreads M/M Group. Josh is an Eppie Award winner, a four-time Lambda Literary Award finalist (twice for Gay Mystery), and the first ever recipient of the Goodreads Favorite M/M Author Lifetime Achievement award.